Need help with value…husband died, left car

[DaveB]

Hey all. I got a message from my sister. Her good friend’s husband died and left behind this car. Not a happy scene as we are talking about folks in late 40’s here. Of course between her and my sister, details are few. Coronet 500, 383, air cond….these are the only details I could glean from the pics. I don’t even know what year it is. The widow needs the cash, but I don’t want to see her ripped off. My thoughts are that a convertible with AC might be rare.
I have asked my sister to get her friend to dig into her husband’s paperwork as the value may depend greatly if this is numbers matching and all that….so as I get more info I will add it here. I figured with the wealth of Mopar knowledge on this site, we might come up with a number. Car is in Vancouver Canada. Thanks for any insight gang!

 

[2ndgen]

Maybe talk to alecsautomotive.com showing on the sticker... if that's the shop that worked on it they may have more information about it.

 

[SilverBillet]

It will have some nice value if it’s an original 383 HP with air. Need to know the first 5 of the VIN to tell what motor it came with. Maybe Alexsautomotive.com may have some info on the motor? It’s definitely been out of the car and probably been rebuilt. Original motor would not be orange.

 

[bennydodge]

Looks like a 1966. I see HP exhaust manifolds and a four-barrel so it might be a factory 383 hipo engine car. The A/C compressor should not be orange, black is correct. I wouldn't know a precise value, but if it's as nice as the photos and has the original drivetrain it should bring strong money for that model.

 

[DaveB]

So some internet searching has turned up 2 convertibles with asking prices around $53,000 USD. Does this seem low or high?

 

[SilverBillet]

Seems high for that model but it looks to be in very nice condition. The only detraction is the engine and A/C compressor being painted orange. A buyer would want to know if the car has a fender tag, is it the original color and drivetrain and is it rust free as it looks in the photos? Convertibles are notorious for rust in the lower front quarter panels and trunk floor. Any original documentation would add some value.

 

[MikeD1]

I would highly recommend getting it appraised by 1 or 2 'pros', will cost a little but worth it in the long run. There are sooooooo many varibles when pricing these old muscle cars - how much is original, what's been replaced, repainted, how much rust, are the major components original/numbers matching (engine, trans, rearend etc.), is it documented (build sheet, sticker), quality of any replacement items & work done ......... the list is extensive and has a huge impact on the collector value.

 

[SilverBillet]

Appraisal companies suck. An appraiser may give you a high or low value. You may need that for insurance purposes. That can be good or bad but the real value is in the eye of the beholder. I had my 69 Hemi convertible (1 of 10) appraised by Auto Appraisal Group out of Charlottesville, VA while I was restoring it. All that was left to do was the interior, top and glass. They appraised it for 1/5th of what I sold it for. I sold it in the same condition as when they apppraised it. This what it looked like 8 weeks after I sold it.

 

[DaveB]

I would highly recommend getting it appraised by 1 or 2 'pros', will cost a little but worth it in the long run. There are sooooooo many varibles when pricing these old muscle cars - how much is original, what's been replaced, repainted, how much rust, are the major components original/numbers matching (engine, trans, rearend etc.), is it documented (build sheet, sticker), quality of any replacement items & work done ......... the list is extensive and has a huge impact on the collector value.

Appraisal companies suck. I had my 69 Hemi convertible (1 of 10) appraised by Auto Appraisal Group out of Charlottesville, VA while I was restoring it. All that was left to do was the interior, top and glass. They appraised it for 1/5th of what I sold it for. I sold it in the same condition as when they apppraised it.

I actually did message my sister and tell her it is probably a good idea for the widow to spend a few bucks on an appraisal. It would be different if I was closer and could go crawl around the car, get the VIN decoded, etc....I'm not an expert by any means, but with a bit more info from a "car guy" we might be able to get a realistic value. One of my local buddy's told me the car was worth $35k CAD (24 USD) if it's mint and $25k CAD (17.5 USD) if its a 7/10 to 8/10. That seems really low to me.

 

[SilverBillet]

Again, it depends on the condition and originality but $25K US is very low. A Coronet 500 with what looks like a 383HP (because of the fender badging) and factory A/C has to be extremely rare especially in Canada. It would probably be worth $15-$20K even if it needed a total restoration and would cost more than two or three times that to restore one. She really needs to verify the condition and then run an ad in Hemmings and see if she gets any bites. Maybe she could find a broker in Vancouver to check it out and take it on consignment? Either way, she should have insurance on it for an agreed value. There are specialty collector car insurance companies that will do that and typically send out their own appraiser to come up with a value. I would ask for a $50K agreed value based on the research you did. She can just ask for comprehensive fire and theft, no collision or liability) if it’s not being driven. That way it will not cost too much to insure.

 

[MikeD1]

What he paid for it & when it was purchased might be helpful if it wasn't too long ago + any repairs etc. he's done since.
$25K sounds really, really low to me unless it's a bondo-buggy or there are frame issues, gotta believe the Vert + a/c make it a rare bird and that typically means $$.